Integral extensions and the \(a\)-invariant (Q1940210)

If \(k\) is a field and \(A\) is a positively graded noetherian \(k\)-algebra of dimension \(d\) with maximal homogeneous ideal \({m}\), the \(a\)-invariant \(a(A)\) is the top degree of the local cohomology module \(H_{m}^d(A)\). For a homogeneous extension \(A \subseteq B\), the general problem of the paper is finding a bound for \(a(A)\) in terms of \(a(B)\). In the particular case when \(k\) is perfect, \(A\) and \(B\) are domains with \(A \subseteq B\) integral and \(\text{Quot}(A) \subseteq \text{Quot}(B)\) separable, and \(A\) is regular in codimension one, the authors prove that \(a(A) \leq a(B)\). For inseparable extensions, the authors also obtain bounds for \(a(A)\) in terms of the inseparable degree of the field extension and \(a(B)\) (in the 2-dimensional case) or the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity \(\text{reg}(B)\) (for arbitrary dimension). The results are motivated by the question whether the property of having minimal multiplicity descends in an integral extension \(A \subseteq B\). (Recall that \(B\) is said to have minimal multiplicity if \(e(B)=\text{edim}(B) -\text{dim} B + 1\).) As an application, the authors are able to prove that if \(k\) is perfect and \(A \subseteq B\) is a homogeneous extension of standard \(k\)-domains with \(A\) normal and Cohen-Macaulay, and \(B\) has minimal multiplicity, then so does \(A\).